Category Archives: Photography

Three years ago this week, Broadway’s theaters went dark amid the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. Actors no longer graced Manhattan’s iconic stages, theater-goers clutching playbills couldn’t pack into seats and the excited hubbub of the Theater District fell silent. 

While the streets were empty, Mark S. Kornbluth got to work photographing the theaters in stunning detail. The photos document a moment that’s hard to imagine now as theaters are back once again. His photos are now on view in a new exhibit called “DARK” at Cavalier Galleries in Chelsea.

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A long-time photographer, Kornbluth traded his 35 mm for a large-format digital camera and began making photos of as many theaters as possible when they shut down in 2020. He took dozens of images of each building, sculpting the final creation from individual frames.

“I love the way that the ambient light at night, billboards and streetlights became my studio lights, illuminating the grandeur that has always been, and remains unique to New York City,” the artist said in a press release.

The gallery show documents dozens of New York City theater exteriors, including the Ambassador, Barrymore, Booth, Eugene O’Neill, Imperial, Lunt Fontaine, Lyric, Music Box, New Victory and Richard Rodgers. Broadway shows captured in the historical moment include The Book of Mormon, Hamilton, Hangmen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Inheritance, Moulin Rouge, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.

Looking back on the images now, it’s jarring to see some of the signage appearing in the photos with ironic and unsettling messages like: “I’ve never heard an audience with this mighty a roar” and “History is happening in Manhattan.” 

I love the way that the ambient light at night, billboards and streetlights became my studio lights, illuminating the grandeur that has always been, and remains unique to New York City. 

While the images feel ominous, they also exude a hopefulness to return to life “as it was.” Plus, they showcase the glorious design of Broadway’s theaters with their arched windows, intricate cornices and glowing lights. 

“I started this series with the intention to dramatize the language and narrative in the signage, contrasted with the stillness of the mise-en-scène. Despite the sudden and lasting emptiness that the pandemic gave rise to, I discovered a delightful tension, a sense of Broadway waiting for the promise and renewal that art invariably brings,” Kornbluth said in a statement. “I’m deeply curious about relationships between objects, how emotions are rooted in time and place, and how to create the power of a shared experience.”

The theater holds a special meaning for Kornbluth, as he spent a decade in the theatrical arts touring Broadway shows across the country and working in TV and film. In addition to his work as a photographer, he’s also a screenwriter, stage manager, director and producer.

Kornbluth’s photos document the state of suspended animation when one of the busiest places on earth went silent, when “unprecedented” became a common refrain. Though it’s a tough moment to relive, the photos in “DARK” chronicle an important moment in time captured beautifully for the archives of our collective memory.

See DARK, a solo exhibit of Mark S. Kornbluth’s photographs, at Cavalier Galleries in Chelsea (530 W 24th Street in Manhattan). It’s on view through Saturday, April 15, 2023 on Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10am-6pm. 

Our series profiling professional photographers and the gear they keep in their kit bag continues. In these articles, sponsored by MPB, and how they know when it’s time to move on to a new camera or lens. Next up, wedding photographer Robert Pugh tells us what go-to gear is always in his kit bag, what gear he has sold over the years and how he knows when it’s time to move on from a camera or lens.

When did you make the leap and become a professional photographer?

I went full time in photography back in 2011. The reason I went full time is that I could no longer sit behind a desk. It was getting too stressful. I was an area manager of a big company, and I was off with stress for a month at one point. I decided that things had to change. I got a phone call from a school asking if I was available to cover a big sporting event. I said yes, and that launched my career to the point where I still shoot all their events to this day. That supplied me with the budget I need to start the business.

What camera are you using right now?

I use the Sony A1. I started life out with Sony and the A99. I liked it, but their hotshoe was a bit of a nightmare to use. I switched to Nikon, but I found the cameras a bit heavy and bulky. So I moved to Olympus and used it for about 8 years, but I felt that I wasn’t getting the depth, the bokeh I wanted. I needed to go back to full-frame. Going into the shop and testing out various cameras, and I ended up back on Sony. I wanted something that is ergonomically comfortable in hand, light and small but still packs a punch.

What is your go-to gear that you keep in your kitbag?

This comes on every single shoot:

• Sony A1
• Sony 50mm f/1.2
• Sigma 85mm f/1.4
• Sony 35mm f/1.4
• Sony 24mm f/1.4
• Profoto A1X flash
• As a backup body, I take another A1. I don’t use it; I’ve only got it with me in case something goes wrong.

How often do you sell your gear?

I don’t keep anything I’m not using. I give a camera three years. I’m a limited company, so it helps with corporation tax. Investing in new gear helps me keep tax down. To be honest, the way technology is advancing, after three years a camera becomes pretty outdated anyway. Sony likes to do this thing where you can have two iterations of a camera in one year. With the pro bodies, they do need to be upgraded to take advantage of new tech like AI. Doesn’t matter if it’s a laptop or camera, you have to keep them updated for processing power.

The problem with the A1 is if you go buy one it’s £6500.

How do you know when it’s time to sell your gear?

I was an Olympus Ambassador for 8 years and they supplied the cameras and lenses. So I was spoiled where I didn’t need to sell or buy anything. I got all the latest cameras and lenses. That was a real blessing. And I was under contract so had to use their gear. I wanted to branch out though so eventually invested my money in a Sony system.

“That’s a lot of money just to be sitting in a bag! It’s not earning you anything.”

I know people who hold on to all their lenses, and I’ve done workshops where people come out and they have all the gear. People say, Well I might need it. But in the last month, there’s usually just a small group of kit that they use. That’s a lot of money just to be sitting in a bag! It’s not earning you anything. I feel like a camera and lens have to earn their way into your kit bag, otherwise I can invest that money into new equipment.

How do you make sure the next gear you purchase is right for your needs?

It’s a bit easier for me because I really only shoot with three lenses across the board. 35mm for all documentary. 50mm for close up detail. 85mm for headshots. My whole career has been with those lenses. I don’t like zooms. I feel they make you lazy and you’ll probably take six types of shots from one position. With a prime you zoom with your feet and find better angles by moving around.

What’s your advice for new photographers who might be looking to sell their beginner gear?

My biggest advice is don’t rush into anything. All these camera shops are more than happy to help you make the right choice. Go to shows and get hands on with cameras. Try various brands and see what the difference are and what system of lenses they offer. Don’t make an impulse buy. The worst is that you follow a photographer on YouTube and he shoots with a camera that you buy and it’s not right for you. Utilise the camera shows to try before you buy.

© Hulton Archive
William Henry Fox Talbot, considered to be the true inventor of photography, at his studio – Hulton Archive

Photography was invented by an Englishman from Dorset, not a Frenchman, who was previously thought of as the father of photography, Bodleian Library exhibition has claimed.

The Bright Sparks exhibition, which opens on Friday, has waded into a long-running debate over who first mastered the medium.

It contends that while French inventor Louis Daguerre is often seen as the father of the photograph, it was in fact Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot who made the first and most significant breakthroughs.

© Provided by The Telegraph
William Henry Fox Talbot is recognised to have produced the first negative

Mr Daguerre developed a chemical process to produce ‘daguerreotypes’ in the 1840s, a rudimentary form of photography that became popular across France in the following years.

However, the new exhibition lays out how it was Mr Talbot’s intervention to produce the first negative in the 1830s which was the most significant step forward, and allowed photographs to be reproduced multiple times.

“Fox Talbot did invent photography, we can say that, but while his claim is as strong as anyone else’s, what he alone really gave to photography is the idea of the negative, the reverse image, used to create more prints,” Phillip Roberts, curator of photography at the Bodleian Library, told The Guardian.

John Hannavy, a photography historian and academic, told The Telegraph that he was surprised that there was any question or doubt over who invented photography.

He said: “He invented the idea of the ‘negative’ from which countless prints could be made, and his earliest negative was made in 1835.

© Provided by The Telegraph
One of the early photographs by William Henry Fox Talbot, which is of a man seated beneath an ash tree in Ugbrooke Park, Devon

“He wrote a note alongside what we now believe to be his earliest surviving negative – made in August 1835 – drawing attention to one of the many features of photography which all Victorians would have found especially remarkable.

“That unique characteristic was the camera’s ability to miniaturise without sacrificing detail, the one immediately obvious distinction between photography and painting.”

Putting name to invention

However, unlike Mr Daguerre who went on to put his name on his invention, Mr Talbot, whose images became known as calotypes, opted not to. 

His work in developing photographic techniques went far beyond these initial inventions too, with the rest of his life spent developing photographic technology and techniques.

The exhibition will display these early calotype experiments as well as the British inventor’s whole archive, including examples of his early attempts at making images using a glass electric discharge wand.

The exhibition will also showcase how Talbot’s work has inspired future artists, alongside photography works from other notable contemporary photographers such as Hiroshi Sugimoto, Martin Parr and Alison Rossiter, as well as ones from the past Julia Margaret Cameron.

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Mar. 11—Photography, like many complex hobbies, can involve a great deal of head-scratching, second-guessing, and wishful thinking. So many photographers and those who would like to be photographers rest their hobby on, “If only I had (this lens or that camera)…”

And sure, if I won the lottery… hm. You know what? Before I buy any more cameras, I think I’d buy an airplane.

But that’ll be the day, right? In the mean time, I am, and have been throughout my career, someone who puts hardware into my workflow to see how it will perform. Sure, anyone can shoot pictures of cats and brick walls, but those kinds of images will never tell you what you need to know.

With all that in mind, I got a grab-bag of photo gear before Christmas from an estate sale, and before long, I put all that hardware into action, including the Sigma 400mm f/5.6.

This lens was one of a group of lenses that were made by some third party, then labeled with brand names like Sigma, Tokina, Tamron, Pentax, and so on.

It was obvious from the day I took home those bags of camera gear that no one had made pictures with any of it for years, so it was exciting to use it.

The Sigma, however, comes from an era of sketchy quality control at the company, so I didn’t have particularly high expectations. I put it on my Nikon D3 and took it to tennis earlier this week, and I was able to surprise myself with the result.

The trick with a lot of lenses is that they are often not at all sharp at their largest apertures, and knowing that, I shot with the Sigma set at f/8, one full stop smaller than the maximum aperture of f/5.6, and sure enough, there was a sweet spot. Shooting at f/8, which in any situation is a small aperture, means either amping my ISO to about 1600, or putting up with slower shutter speeds. Even “stopped down,” though, this 400mm wasn’t as sharp as it’s 30-year-younger brethren.

So on sunny days when I want some reach and to carry a lighter piece of kit, look for me with this interesting legacy lens.

California-based artist Richard Satava creates incredible glass Jellyfish sculptures. Glass sculptures are typically handcrafted by skilled glass artists who use various techniques and tools to shape, manipulate, and fuse glass into beautiful and intricate forms. Glass sculptures can be made from various types of glass, including clear, colored, or textured glass, and can range in size from small figurines to large installations.

Some common techniques used in creating glass sculptures include blowing, casting, kiln-forming, and cold working. Blowing involves using a blowpipe to shape molten glass, while casting involves pouring molten glass into a mold to create a solid form. Kiln-forming involves heating pieces of glass in a kiln until they fuse together, while cold working involves cutting, grinding, and polishing glass to achieve a desired shape or texture.

Richard Satava and his crew create fascinating hand-blowing sculptures of jellyfish. Their pieces realistically reproduce the shape of those sea animals with a vivid color palette.

In his words “Satava Art Glass produces an array of stunning hand-blown and solid forms in glass. Our work is well-known and appreciated throughout the world. Our amazing Jellyfish in glass have worked their way into many people’s hearts and homes. Satava hand-blown vases, depicting beautiful natural landscapes, have made many a person melt.”

Scroll down and inspire yourself. Check Richard’s Instagram and Website for more amazing work.

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